The Story Behind the Numbers: Using a Narrative Budget in Your Congregation [PDF file] by Lynn Geddes
June, 2006 issue of Stewardship Magazine, PC(USA)

 "Change or Die" By: Alan Deutschman From Fast Company Magazine Issue 94 [PDF file] May 2005, Page 53

Downloadable Resources and Websites

Rob Bell, the pastor of a megachurch in Grand Rapids produces and nararates series of excellent videos specifically directed at an x-generation audience on a variety of topics including money and possessions.  The one titled "Rich", is about the American Christian's relationship to his/her money and possessions and the rest of the world.  I just saw another one over the weekend called "Sunday" that was very good on the idea of giving from a "cheerful" versus an "obilgatory" motivation. They are only about $10 each but I think there is a special deal on the whole set. You can find them at www.Nooma.com.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) website
has some excellent resources on stewardship for adults, youth, and children. www.pcusa.org/stewardship Contact information for PCUSA stewardship staff, including mission funding, stewardship education, and resources, may also be found here.

Presbyterian Distribution Services(www.pcusa.org/marketplace): click on “Search Catalog” and look for “Stewardship” in the subject search. Several pages of resources – many of which are free – are included there.

Church Financial Campaign Service
provides a wide array of services to empower congregations, presbyteries and other church related agencies to secure financial commitments from and deepen the stewardship awareness of their faith communities. www.pcusa.org/cfcs.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation
has a goldmine of resources in planned giving, endowments, wills and bequests, life-income plans, gift annuities, and more. The Foundation also manages the investment opportunity called New Covenant Funds. www.fdn.pcusa.org.

Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
carries the titles from Geneva Press and Westminster/John Knox press. Visit them at http://www.ppcbooks.com/Index.asp and do a title search on the word “Steward” as well as the title of the specific book you’re looking for.

The Synod of the Rocky Mountains website (www.synodrm.org) has an extensive section of stewardship resources including PowerPoint presentations, newsletter articles, suggestions for stewardship committees, and sermons. Permission is freely given to visitors to that website to download.

The Texas Presbyterian Foundation (www.tpf.org)
is another good place to search for resources and links to other helpful websites. It’s part of the Synod of the Sun.

The Ecumenical Stewardship Center
dedicates itself to the promotion of Christian Stewardship, providing a variety of resources. www.stewardshipresources.com.

Congregational Endowment Funds: Empowering the Vision of God’s Coming Kingdom. Gerald W. Bauer. Download and print from www.alban.org for $14.

Endowed Congregations: Pros and Cons by Loren Mead. Download and print for $7 at www.alban.org.

The Whys and Hows of Money Leadership: A Curriculum for Those Who Want To Work Toward Deeper Understanding by Mark Vincent. It’s downloadable at the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, www.elca.org/dcm/stewardship/smart/money_leadership/index.html.

Stewardship in the 21st Century

Luther Seminary connects you to a wealth of resources to help congregations and individuals develop their call to stewardship.

Explore our database for articles, web site links, books, videos, audio presentations, short stories, quotes, and other types of educational and motivational materials.

View lessons on generous living from Luther Seminary faculty in our new Living in Abundance series.

Visit some of these denominational websites and search for “stewardship”:
www.gbod.org
www.elca.org
www.umc.org
www.ucc.org/stewardship
www.discipleshipresources.org
www.episcopalchurch.org/stewardship
www.churchfinancecouncil.org
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Annual Campaign program materials

This listing is provided as a resource for church leaders. This listing of firms does not claim to list all companies that produce resources and services in these areas. The list is not to be construed as an endorsement or recommendation for any one firm or program. The listing is provided for informational purposes only.

The Missing Piece
a congregational stewardship program by Bill Easum.

• Download and print from www.easumbandy.com for $12. While you’re there, look for other resources, including “Financial Stewardship Lifters” and several free articles for reprint.

Called to Serve
by Leo B. Waynick, Jr.
LeWay Resources, Inc.
1-800-72-LEWAY

• This program invites the congregation to explore stewardship as it relates to vocation.
• Members are challenged to consider how they serve Christ in the church, in the community, in the home, in the world, and in the workplace.
• The program culminates with volunteers telephoning each household to discuss the church's ministry and each household's financial commitments.

Celebrate the Faith
by Leo B. Waynick, Jr.
LeWay Resources, Inc.
1-800-72-LEWAY

• Focuses on the actions people can take to develop a strong personal faith.
• Invites members to commit themselves to one or more faith disciplines for a five-week period.
• Encourages financial commitments being received on Celebrate the Faith Sunday.

Celebrate the Gift
by Leo B. Waynick, Jr.
LeWay Resources, Inc.
1-800-72-LEWAY

• Helps a congregation develop a joyous spirit as it celebrates the gift of faith, the gift of fellowship, and the gift of community.
• Focuses on a prayer connection that unites members in prayer for one another.
• Helps members – through the use of celebration cards – identify positive characteristics about their church, its members, and its mission and ministry.

Courage to Care
by Leo B. Waynick, Jr.
LeWay Resources, Inc.
1-800-72-LEWAY

• Members are invited to commit themselves to at least one act of caring through a "Care Connection."
• Visitation teams share with members in their homes aspects of next year's program
• Well-trained visitors discuss with members the ways that God is calling the church to ministry.

Cycles of Discipleship
by Jack Phillips
614-798-8943

• A new, innovative year-round stewardship program — not a one-time emphasis — based on three annual renewal cycles. Each cycle is designed for a four-month period.
• Introduced through four special Sundays — Celebration Sunday, Vision Sunday, A Place for You Sunday, and Discipleship Sunday.
• Motivates people to give as a response of their gratitude for God's grace.
• Kit includes 9 program guides, a training video, resource materials CDROM, age-graded Discipleship Lessons, and online support with updates and resource materials.

Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation
by Ecumenical Stewardship Center
1-800-972-0433

• An annual journal filled with stewardship articles, including a basic annual stewardship campaign
• The journal offers a different theme each year.
• The journal provides an announcement letter, cover letter with estimate of giving card, financial enlistment timeline, and other theme material (available from Cokesbury).

In the Light of Grace
by Resource Services, Inc.
1-800-527-6824

• A two-Sunday budget program with mailers that stimulate congregations to examine giving in a new light.
• Lessons and seminars further help church members apply stewardship to their daily lives.
• All the components build toward a churchwide experience called Commitment Sunday.
• The program is available in two versions: The first presents the Bible's precepts on tithing; the second emphasizes general stewardship and growth in giving.

Living Stewardship Program
1-800-443-2872

• Focuses on a different theme each year.
• Provides separate, custom printed material for targeted audiences, such as current contributing members and inactive members. Bases pricing on church membership.
• Enables different approaches to be used in reaching various segments of the congregation.

New Beginnings: My Opportunity for Giving
by Paul Wilkes
1-800-936-0363

• My Opportunity for Giving has a simple — yet profound — goal: To make stewardship a way of life for congregants.
• My Opportunity for Giving creates an "attitude of gratitude" by carefully leading members through a thoughtful consideration of the time, the talent, and the treasure they have been given by God.
• "Stewardship — It's Already in Your Heart" is the bold — but certainly true — statement that underlies the New Beginnings approach.

The New Consecration Sunday
by Herb Miller
1-800-672-1789

• A self-directed campaign.
• Requires an outside leader/speaker.
• Requires a meal for church leaders and a catered luncheon for the entire congregation.
• Emphasizes the Christian responsibility of the giver to give.
• Requires that estimate of giving cards be received on Consecration Sunday.

Quill: The Personal Demonstration Stewardship Program
by Church Fund-raising Services, Inc.
1-800-826-2048

• Quill focuses on a personalized appeal for each church member.
• The manual is lengthy (200 pages), but highly detailed with step-by-step directions.
• Handwritten letters on personal stationary in hand-addressed envelopes mailed to self-selected prospects with the personal witness of the author and an invitation to join him/her in increasing giving is the "mechanical secret" of Quill's success.

Unto Us Is Given
by Leo B. Waynick, Jr.
LeWay Resources, Inc.
1-800-72-LEWAY

• Unto Us is Given is rooted in the belief that God gave us the gift of Jesus "special delivery."
• All members are encouraged to focus on receiving God's gifts and to pass them on in greater abundance.
• On Special Delivery Sunday, teams of two people make a special delivery of an Advent booklet to each member's home. During the visit, the team offers to "special-deliver" the member's estimate of giving card back to the church.